


Run

by DizzyDisaster, IronicallyIdiotic (DizzyDisaster)



Series: At the Heart of It All [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: But also, Canon Compliant, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Established Relationship, F/M, Game: Kingdom Hearts I, Kinda, Probably super cheesy (because im trash), Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:01:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22622953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DizzyDisaster/pseuds/DizzyDisaster, https://archiveofourown.org/users/DizzyDisaster/pseuds/IronicallyIdiotic
Summary: Sora's sister Lanri has always had one goal in life. To keep her idiot little brother from doing anything ridiculously stupid. Princess Yué has always felt that it was her responsibility to watch over the light of all the worlds. And then the stars start going out, and the two find their missions intertwining in ways that they could never have possibly imagined before. And how is it that Sora and Yué are connected? And what in the name of Hell is Lanri's boyfriend Riku doing running around with those weird Heartless? Set during the first KH.
Relationships: Kairi & Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi (Kingdom Hearts) & Original Character(s), Original Character & Original Character, Riku (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Female Character(s), Sora (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: At the Heart of It All [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1004490
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter One

There was a feeling of falling. Falling. Falling. Falling. Ever deeper into the black abyss. She could see herself, or rather, she could see the person she was dreaming through. She had dreamt through him many times. The blue-eyed boy with the sun-kissed skin and a smile that shined like the stars. This time was different though. This time she felt more like herself and less like the boy of her dreams. It was almost as though he could sense her too. Like he could see her above him, falling after him as though they were birds playfully chasing each other. 

The abyss was beginning to become brighter. A light shining amongst the darkness. Huh. That’s funny. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought that she had been here before. 

They landed gracefully upon a platform of stained glass depicting a beautiful young woman. Yué could feel the light and purity coming from the woman. She knew that this was her heart, and she could feel within the boy that he may not know exactly where they were he at least understood the meaning. 

They admired their surroundings for a short while before the voice came, urging them not to be afraid. They took a step forward, and all around them appeared the pedestals, holding a shield, a staff, and a sword. The voice came again, telling them to choose.

Yué, for the first time since she and the boy had begun to share dreams, decided it was time for her to finally speak. “I think you should pick the shield.”

The boy paused, but he didn’t seem startled to hear her voice. He knew that she had been there all along. 

“Whyyyyy?” he whined, and Yué wanted to roll her eyes. She knew that he was younger than she was, but not that he would be like this. “The sword’s so much cooler!”

Yué huffed, but relented, “Fine, you can do whatever you want. You’re the one that was pulled to this place anyway.”

The boy grinned so hard Yué felt like she could feel her own grin starting to split her face. He bounced happily in the direction of the pedestal that held the sword and reached out to touch it. Just before his fingers grazed the blade, he stopped. 

“What’re you waiting for?” she asked, “Isn’t that the one you wanted?”

“I-”

“It’s okay. I’m sorry if I sounded upset before. I don’t want you to do anything that you don’t want to.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” he remarked, drawing his hand away from the sword. “I think I  _ will _ pick the shield.”

He backed fully away from the pedestal, turning around and marching towards the shield. His hand reached out to grasp it, and both of them gasped as he held it in front of him. Something about this just felt... right. 

The voice returned again, asking which power he would give up. 

The boy placed a hand on his chin like he was in deep thought even though she knew that was most definitely not happening. “Any ideas, oh mysterious girl?” 

Yué snorted, “I think I’ll leave this one up to you, bouncy boy.”

She felt him nod, and he walked towards the pedestal that held the staff.

The voice echoed all around them, “You have chosen the power of the Guardian. You have given up the power of the Mystic. Is this the form you choose?”

For the first time in all of their dreams, the boy stiffened in anxiety. While Yué had always had a weird life, she knew that the boy’s had been fairly calm and peaceful. This was a new experience, and she felt within her own heart that this was only the beginning of their adventures.

“It’s alright,” she whispered, “I’m here with you.” 

She grasped his hand and felt him squeeze her fingers in silent thanks. They then both looked up into the darkness, trying to find the ephemeral being that awaited his answer.

“Yes. This is the form I choose.”

The voice accepted his answer, and the pedestals fell into the ground. The stained glass platform began to shake before it shattered and sent the two falling once again into the abyss. Yué saw the boy held out his hands, trying desperately to reach out for her. She managed to grasp onto his wrist, and he pulled her into himself to protect her from the fall.

They did not fall for long. Soon enough another heart appeared to catch them, once again the heart of a pure young woman. The boy placed them slowly on the stable ground and Yué silently hoped that this one wouldn’t fall out from under their feet.

“Are you okay?” he asked, making sure that she was steady before he fully released her from his arms.

She gave him a brief but thankful smile, “Yeah, I’m okay.” 

The boy held the shield out in front of himself and Yué, looking at it quizzically. 

“What do you think I should do with this?” he asked, looking over his shoulder to send her a goofy grin.

Yué crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow, “Gee, I don’t know. Maybe you should try and hit something with it.”

The boy stuck out his tongue at her, and the voice came to grace them with its words of wisdom.

“Fight. Protect yourself and others.”

“Um, Mr. Voice!” Yué shouted, “I was just kidding about the whole whacking things with a shield thing! I mean is that really necessar- WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE THINGS!”

“Hey! Language!” The boy shouted, readying himself in an attack stance. 

“That’s seriously what you’re worried about right now?!” Yué retorted, she herself preparing to attack the black slinky creatures. They were dark, and not just in appearance. Their entire beings radiated an aura of evil and hatred and other negative feelings. However; something about them was familiar to her, and that was what made her the most scared.

“No!” the boy yelled, holding out his arm to stop her from moving any further forward. “Stay behind me! You don’t have anything to defend yourself with. Let me handle it!”

Yué huffed in frustration but agreed. She knew how to handle a sword, and was somewhat knowledgable in basic spells, but they were vastly outnumbered and she would only get in the way so she stood in her spot and watched the boy bash the beings over the head with his shield while she would cast fire if one ventured too close to herself or the boy.

The last of the creatures were defeated, and the boy huffed in relief before looking up at her in curiosity. “Where’d the fire come from?”

“Uh, from me,” Yué replied. “It was magic.”

He grinned in excitement. “Cool!”

The darkness appeared again, spreading all across the heart. The two looked up at each other, their eyes widening as the darkness overtook them and sucked them down. They reappeared again on another heart, a door positioned in the middle.

Yué stood, the boy doing the same, and they both approached the door.

“Where do you think it goes?” asked the boy.

“I don’t know.”

They each grabbed onto a door handle and pulled, a blinding light shining through and encompassing them.

When they opened their eyes, they were out on the ocean, but Yué could feel that they were still in the darkness. The voice came to them again, telling them that it wasn’t time for the door to open until it knew more about them. She was starting to get really tired of them showing up and saying something cryptic. But why this place? Why this world?

She looked over at the boy and saw him smiling serenely. He must know about this place.

“Where are we?”

The boy laughed, “I’m home! Selphie, Tidus, Wakka! It’s me! Sora! Oh, you’ll never believe the dream I just had!”

Yué grabbed onto his arm, “Sora, wait! I don’t think you’re home just yet.”

He turned around to look at her, surprised to see that she was still there. If she was there, then that meant that he really was still dreaming.

“Oh, yeah. I guess you’re right.”

They went around to each of his friends, who all had a question to ask. The girl, Selphie, asked Sora what he thought was most important. The taller boy, Wakka, asked Sora what he wanted out of life. Lastly, the other boy, Tidus, asked Sora what he was afraid of. With all three questions answered, the voice spoke and informed them that their adventures were soon to begin. 

Sora’s home faded away, and they found themselves standing on another pure heart, both of them feeling much more confident. More of the dark creatures appeared and they stood back to back fending them off, Sora more assured that she could protect herself with her magic. With the beings gone, more of the platforms appeared, connected to each other by a path of stained glass. Their ascent saw more of the creatures appear, but they knew that they were capable of defeating them. 

A light appeared before them, Sora walking into its beam. His shadow appeared behind him before it took a form of its own. A great monster that rose high before them, its heart missing from inside of its chest.

They backed away in fear, but there was nowhere to run.

Yué steeled herself against her fear and faced the creature with bravery. She turned to Sora with a courageous smile on her face. “We can take him!”

Sora nodded, and they readied themselves to attack.

The large beast fought, smashing its fist to the ground to summon a pool of darkness that the smaller of its kind would pop up from. It would then rear back, shooting spheres of darkness from the emptiness where its heart should be. The two persevered in their fight and the monster was defeated, but they once again felt into the darkness with an understanding that they would not see each other on the other side.

“Wait!” Sora yelled, clawing his way through the darkness towards her. “I don’t even know your name!”

“It’s Yué!”

Yué jolted upright in her bed. She could almost still hear Sora’s voice still in her head, telling someone to give him a break.

A knock echoed on her door, and she rose from her bed, wiping the sleep from her eyes as she went to see who could possibly want her at this hour of this morning. 

She opened the door and found her best friend Max Goof standing before her. Letting out a small hmph she opened the door wider to let him. “You of all people know that I don’t wake up this early in the morning.” She grinned playfully, waiting for him to retort but Max’s expression was still somber. Her smile dropped, “Max? What’s wrong?”

“It’s Mickey. Something’s happened.”

Yué’s eyes widened, and they took off through the halls of Disney Castle towards the library where Queen Minnie would be waiting, Yué’s heart full of fear for the King. 


	2. Chapter 2

Lanri looked up at her boyfriend, “Hey, have you seen Sora lately?”

Riku shrugged and continued his task of roping logs into a raft. Herself, Riku, Sora, and their friend Kairi had all had the brilliant idea to make a raft to take them to other worlds. While the Destiny Islands were beautiful and would always be their home, they were ready to see something new! Enough of the same old beaches and the same old sky. They wanted something different; to see unique places and to meet extraordinary people. And how was that ever going to happen if they just sat and played on the Destiny Islands all day?! No, they had to get out of this place. Adventure was calling their names. 

“I don’t know. He was taking a nap the last I saw of him.”

Lanri groaned and picked herself up off of the sand from where she had been gathering Thalassa shells per the request of Kairi and began muttering to herself about no good lazy little brothers. Lanri walked down the beach, and sure enough there he was. Passed out in the sand twitching in his sleep. She rolled her eyes, stepping down to the gentle waves lapping at the shore to cup water in her hands before tossing it over her brother’s face. 

Sora yelped as he was ungracefully awoken from his slumber. “Hey! Give me a break Lanri!” He huffed and tried to shake the water out of his hair like a dog. 

“Get up you lazy bum!” Lanri shouted. “We’ve got work to do.”

Kairi walked down to the shore when she heard the commotion between the two siblings, and giggled into her hand as a wet Sora glared at his sister. “You knew that he would be snoozing down here!”

“No guys, you have to listen to me! There was this big black thing that swallowed me up! And there was this girl there! And she could shoot magic fire out of her hands!”

Lanri laughed, “Are you sure you’re not still dreaming?”

“No really!”

Sora began to enigmatically recount his dream to Kair again, but Lanri tuned the two of them out content once again to start picking up her seashells. 

Riku chuckled as walked over to the three, a log in his hand. “You’re not going to forget about me, are you?” He tossed the log over to Sora, who was knocked down in his attempt to catch it. “You’re all just as lazy as he is.”

“Hey!” Lanri exclaimed. “I was helping.”

Riku smirked, “Picking up seashells is not helping.”

“Whatever you saaaaaay.”

Kairi giggled, “C’mon let’s go work on the raft! I’ll race you!”

Lanri babbled, “Wha- no I am not-”

“Three, two, one, GO!”

All at once, the four of them took off to the other side of the island, laughing as they thought of all the fun and happy memories they would make on their adventures once they completed their raft.

“What do you mean he left?!”

Yué huffed and paced the length of the library. Oh, Mickey. This was just like him. His sense of urgency was baffling. Yes, she understood his reasoning. They had in fact discussed the current cosmic dilemma at length as it affected her more than anyone else. Her connection to the lights of the worlds had her silver eyes glowing with tears every night. She could _feel_ them. The night sky had been a place of comfort for her since she was a little girl. She would look up at all of the lights twinkling in the distance and revel in them, letting the lights of all those worlds, all those people, wash over her. And now all those people were disappearing into the darkness and each fading star stabbed at her heart harder than the last. 

She wanted more than anything to help, but how was she supposed to do anything sitting here in this castle left behind by the one person (mouse) that could make a difference!

“Oh, gawrsh, Yué. Please don’t get upset.”

The voice of Goofy, the captain of the castle guard and Max’s dad, made her pause in her pacing and silent musings to see Goofy, the court mage Donald, Queen Minnie, Max, and Minnie’s Lady Daisy all looking at her in concern. She felt the wetness on her cheeks, wondering when they that had gotten there and wiped it away with the back of her hand. There was no way she was going to let them see her cry, not at a time like this. She had to be a pillar of strength. The King was gone. Everyone needed her to be strong. She would do it for them. 

“What does this letter say?” In answer to her question, Pluto padded over to her, the letter gripped gently in his mouth. She knelt down and took it from him, patting him on the top of his head in thanks. 

_Donald,_

_Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'._

_Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by one. And that means disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all but I've gotta go check into it._

_There's someone with a "key"—the key to our survival. So I need you and Goofy to find him, and stick with him. Got it?_

_We need that key or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find Leon. He'll point you in the right direction._

_P.S. Would ya apologize to Yué and Minnie for me? Thanks, pal._

_Signed - Mickey_

What was with this talk of keys? There hadn’t been another Keyblade wielder in ten years, and the only one they were currently aware of ran off in the middle of the night to go who-knows-where on his quest to stop the worlds from dying. She gasped, thinking of the boy from her dreams, of Sora. That place they had been, and the call to protect others from the dark. Could he be...? 

Yué placed the letter on the desk, resolve ever-present in her expression. “I’m coming with you.”

Donald squawked, “No! It’s too dangerous!”

“Don’t worry, Princess. I’ll make sure they don’t get into any trouble,” piped up Jiminy, a little cricket who was one of the many souls who had lost his world to the darkness. He had promised to come with Donald and Goofy to chronicle their journey.

Goofy nodded, “He’s right Yué. You don’t need to go out puttin’ yourself in harm’s way. Why, me an’ Donald can handle it! Right, Donald?”

“Right! You and the Queen need to stay here where it’s safe!”

“And Max here will keep watch over you!” Goofy declared, wrapping an arm around his son in pride. “Right, Maxy?”

Max nodded, “Right.” But one look at Yué told Max all he needed to know. She would be going on this journey whether any of them liked it or not.

Lanri and Riku had decided to take a well-deserved break. Okay maybe it wasn’t well-deserved, and maybe they had kept sending each other little looks all throughout the day that would have made her brother gag at how sickly sweet they were being, but if they wanted to run off to go goof around the paopu tree then no one was going to stop them. 

Well, no one was going to stop them that is until Sora happened to look up and find them.

“Hey, no fair!” he yelled, dropping the logs he had been dragging back to the raft. “I’m doing all the work, and _you two_ are just sitting around making kissy faces at each other all day. Gross!” Sora then pretended to get sick in the sand, which prompted his sister to pick up a coconut and throw it at his head.

“Ow!”

She didn’t miss.

Sora left the logs in the sand, coming around to climb up the later towards the front of the jetty that the paopu tree grew on. He picked up his sword that he had left laying on the ground and pointed it at his sister. “Spar with me!”

Lanri rolled her eyes but relented, sliding off of the tree trunk and grabbing the sturdy stick she used as a staff.

“When was the last time you beat me, Sora?”

“Uh...”

“Yeah, never.” Lanri twirled her staff so that the tip was hooked at the back of her brother’s ankle. She used the staff to kick his foot out from under him, causing him to lose balance. While he tried to steady himself, she placed the end on his chest and lightly bumped him. He fell back into the water with a loud splash. 

Lanri looked down into the water to make sure that she hadn’t seriously injured him. “Are you okay?”

Sora groaned, but she knew that it was more of a groan of defeat rather than one of pain. He picked himself out of the water. “I’ll beat you someday, Lanri!” he shouted and dragged his soaking wet self back to the shore to continue his raft supplies collection duties.

Lanri turned around to Riku at the sound of his slight laughter.

“What?”

He just grinned, “The love between siblings is such a beautiful thing.”

She rolled her eyes and punched him playfully on the shoulder as she hoisted herself back up onto the trunk of the tree. 

The rest of the day quickly passed by, the sun slowly setting over the islands as they watched from their perch on the tree. 

“So.. Kairi’s home is out there somewhere right?” Sora wondered aloud.

The talk turned once again to the thought of other worlds. How would they get there on their raft? What would they do once they got there? How many worlds are even out there, and why did they end up on this one?

“Lanri... Lanri, are you even listening?”

“Huh, sorry, what were you saying?” She shook herself from her musing, thinking of all of the outcomes that could happen once they got on that raft. All of the things that could wrong.

Riku looked up at her in concern, “Are you okay?”

She smiled and looked at all of her friends who were looking at her expectantly, “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry I just got lost in thought.”

Riku turned to Sora and Kairi, “You two go on ahead. We’ll catch up.”

Sora started, “But what about-”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I’ll bring her home. Tell your mom where we are so that she doesn’t worry.”

Sora nodded, and he and Kairi made their way to the dock so that they could paddle home the main island.

Riku hoisted himself up onto the tree and wrapped his arm around her. He felt he felt her relax into his warmth and breathe out a sigh as she calmed herself down. Out of the four of them, Lanri was the most mature. Sure, she teased her brother relentlessly, and she still had a playful heart, but under all of that was a very caring personality. She cared about all of them deeply, and it was her wish that no matter what stupid things they put themselves through they stay safe.

“Do you think that we’re absolute idiots for building a raft and trying to cross into different worlds?” she asked, her tone light but Riku had known her his entire life and could hear the hint of apprehension. 

He shrugged, “Yeah, probably.”

She snorted, “Wow. You really know how to make a girl feel better, don’t you?”

Riku hopped off of the tree, taking her hands into his and looking up at her to meet her sea-blue eyes. “I know you’re scared, not for yourself but for us so no matter what I’m going to promise you this. I will go to whatever means necessary to protect you and keep you safe, okay?”

“Okay.”

Lanri slid down onto the sand and held onto Riku’s hand as they started across the bridge on their way down to the dock, sending him a small smile. He grinned in return and pulled her into his side as they walked together towards Riku’s boat.

“Thank you.”

Riku hummed. “For what?”

“For always understanding me.”

“Always have. Always will.”

The waves were gentle, and all was peaceful as they rowed towards home. 

"Ow ow ow! Your foot is on my nose!"

"Shush! They'll hear us! Just keep me steady!"

Max grumbled as he continued helping his best friend onto the Gummi Ship, functioning as a ladder as Yué attempted to hoist herself into the cockpit. She was gonna owe him one after this. Thankfully for them, Chip and Dale seemed to be absent from the Gummi hangar, so they hadn’t had to worry about the two chipmunks ruining their plans and alerting Donald and Goofy that Yué was planning on stowing away in the hold until they arrived in Traverse Town. Max wasn’t too thrilled with this dad. He agreed that as the Princess she should stay here in the castle where it was safe, but Yué wasn’t having any of it. She was too stubborn for her own good sometimes. When she got an idea in her head, you had better move out of her way or she was going to run you over to achieve her goals. And she was very loyal to the King. Max remembered the day that she had first arrived at Disney Castle. A tiny raven-haired girl who was barely five grasping tightly to King Mickey’s hand. She had rarely left the King’s side since, and so while he didn’t want her to go he understood how important it was for her to do this. 

"Max, what're you doin' down here?"

Max, in his panic, hurriedly grabbed onto his friend's legs and shoved her up as high as he could. Yué let out a soft gasp when she felt herself being pushed the rest of the way into the Gummi Ship, but thankfully didn't make much noise to alert the castle mage and captain. She opened the tiny hatch that led into the hold and squeezed herself inside, attempting to be as quiet as possible so that Donald and Goofy would be none the wiser to her presence.

Max turned and gave his father an innocent grin. "H-hey, Dad! I just came by to see you off."

Goofy smiled brightly, "Gaw, well that was awful kind of ya, son."

"Heh, it was no problem. Besides, I'm probably not going to see you for a while, and I didn't want to let you go without saying goodbye." Max chanced a look a Donald who was tapping his foot with a suspicious look on his face, but thankfully the duck didn't pry any further.

"Well don't worry too much out that now, kiddo. Why I'm sure we'll be back before you know it!"

Max smiled, "Yeah, I'm sure, Dad."

Goofy placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Now while I'm gone, I want you to take care of the guard."

"Mhmm, yeah, alright."

"And look after Yué! I know you'd do anything for your friend, so I expect you to take special care of the princess as acting Captain of the Royal Guard."

"Of course." The only thing is, is that the princess wasn't going to be in the castle because she was currently stowing herself away on the Gummi Ship.

“Well, I guess I should let you two get going,” Max said, beginning to back away from the ship as they prepared everything they would need for their journey. “I’ve got responsibilities now. Y’know, as Captain of the Guard and all. And I’m sure Yué is probably looking for me so I should go and find her. So uh, bye!” Max ran up the stairs and out into the gardens above the hangar.

Donald continued to tap his foot, watching as Max ran out of sight. “Does something seem fishy to you?”

Goofy chuffed, “Nope! Hyuck!” And the two boarded the Gummi Ship.

As Max stood in the garden watching the ship fly into the worlds between, he hoped that Yué was doing the right thing. 

The following day on the Destiny Islands progressed very similarly to the previous one. The raft was nearly complete, so the majority of their day was spent collecting food. Lanri went about collecting the various tropical fruits that grew on the island. Sora could be found climbing trees and getting attacked by the seagulls when he tried to steal their eggs from their nest. Riku went fishing with a stick he had turned into a spear. Lastly left Kairi, who had tasked herself with the job of taking all of the supplies they had gathered and organizing them.

Around midday, Sora and Riku were itching to race, the prize being that the winner got the name the raft.

“I know you always win, but I know I’ve got it this time! I can feel it!” Sora exclaimed, readying himself to run as fast as he could.

Riku smirked, “Whatever you say, Sora.”

Kairi and Lanri gave them the sound off, and the two boys took off towards their goal, a tree whose branches formed into the shape of a star. They started off a fairly similar pace, both running across a ramshackle little bridge that had been falling apart for as long as any of them could remember. Sora jumped over a group of planks that looked particularly unsteady while Riku chanced it and decided that they should be able to hold his weight. This turned out to be the wrong decision, as as soon as he stepped foot on them they collapsed and sent him tumbling into the shallow water underneath. Sora kept running and was soon out of sight over the sandbank while Riku still trudged out of the water.

A few minutes later, a shout of excitement was heard and Sora came sauntering back with a look of pride on his face. 

“Well, a deals a deal. What’re we naming the raft, Sora?” Riku asked, ringing out his silver hair over Lanri who gasped and lightly pushed him when she felt the droplets of water fall on her.

Sora grinned, “I want to call it Excalibur!”

“Isn’t that the name of a sword?”

“Don’t care. It’s cool. My win, my rules.”

Sora and Kairi ran off to go play elsewhere, leaving Lanri and Riku, who was still dripping all over his girlfriend.

“You let him win, didn’t you?” Lanri asked, catching the water droplets on her fingers and flicking them back into his face.

“Maaaaaybe.”

She hummed, “Well, how awfully sweet of you.”

“Now can I have a prize?”

She giggled and pecked his cheek, “We’ll see.”

The rest of the day passed by without incident. The sun began to set, coming down to kiss the ocean in a beautiful orange hue. Lanri and Riku headed back before Kairi and Sora, who were content to sit on the dock and watch the day disappear.

“Don’t out too long you two!” Lanri yelled, climbing into Riku’s rowboat. He handed her an oar once she was settled and they worked in tandem to row back to the main island.

“We won’t!” she heard them reply, and she watch as they waved her and Riku off.

Lanri relaxed in her room for a while, swinging on a hammock swing she had in the corner. She heard Sora come in, listening to the distorted voices as he talked to their mom. She was probably telling him that dinner would be ready soon, just like she had told Lanri when she had walked in the door. He didn’t come to see her, and the door next to her own opened and she heard her brother wandering around inside. She smiled and relaxed, content to spend the rest of her time watching the streetlights slowly flicker to life outside her window.

Her time for relaxing was all too short, as soon she saw a storm brewing in the distance right over their island.

“The raft!” she exclaimed, quickly hopping out of her window and running towards the dock where she and her brother kept their boat. However; she was not as alone as she thought she would be as she watched Sora untie the rope that kept their boat from floating off.

“And just where do you think you’re going?!” Lanri demanded, watching as her brother’s eyes widened as he realized that he had been caught.

“Lanri! I was- The raft!”

“Not without me you’re not!” she declared and quickly hopped into the boat. As Sora finished untieing them, she grabbed an oar and push them off of the shore and out into the water. Her brother grabbed ahold of the other oar, and they took off in the direction of the storm.

As soon as they reached the island, Lanri could tell that this was no ordinary storm. There was something altogether evil about it, and it all coalesced into a great dark ball in the sky. It sent a chill up her spine. They docked their boat, seeing that Riku and Kairi had also made it out to the island, and went off in search of their friends.

As soon as they set foot on the dock, the darkness manifested itself into small twitchy creatures with big glowing yellow eyes. Sora and Lanri were armed with nothing but their wooden sword and staff, which seemed to do no damage to these creatures when they would swing out at them to protect themselves. 

“We have to find the others!” Lanri yelled, grabbing her brother’s arm as they ran through the swarm and darkness. She chanced a glance in the direction of the paopu island and saw a figure standing there staring up in the darkness. Is that...? “Riku!” She dragged her brother along behind her as they ran for the bridge that connected to the smaller island, whacking her staff out in front of her to make a path through the sea of dark creatures.

“Riku! What’s going on?! Where’s Kairi” she yelled as she and Sora came to the edge of the bridge, the wind beginning to whip up around them and the ball of darkness continued to grow even larger.

“The door has opened,” he replied, so quiet and somber that she could barely him over the wind. 

“What?!”

“We can go now! To the outside world!”

Sora slung out his hand, “What’re you talking about? We’ve got to find Kairi!”

“Kairi’s coming with us! We may never see our parents again, but this may be our only chance. I’m not afraid of the darkness.” Riku held out his hand and tendrils of darkness began to reach up to encompass him. He looked directly at Lanri, but what she saw frightened her to her very core. “Are you coming with me?”

Sora reached out for him, trying to drag him out of the evil pit, but Lanri grabbed his hand and pulled him back keeping him as far away from the darkness as she could. 

“Where you’re going is somewhere I won’t let us follow,” she said, holding her shoulders high as she watched her boyfriend steadily sink further into the abyss.

Riku shrugged, “Have it your way.”

And then he was gone, the darkness swallowing him whole and bright light blinding Sora and Lanri as it protected them from the dark. When the light faded, Riku was gone and in Sora’s hand was a large key.

“What is this?” she heard him whisper, only to silently answer his own question. “Keyblade.” One of the creatures snuck behind him readying for an attack.

“Sora look out!’ Lanri yelled, and he turned at her warning slashing through the creature and watching in wonder as the key went right through it. At least now one of them was armed.

“We have to find Kairi! Stay behind me!” Sora shouted, and although she wished she was the one protecting him she agreed that it was better that the one with the weapon lead them through the onslaught of creatures.

They made their way to the secret place, a small cave hidden by a veil of foliage near the spring that resided on the island. Once where there used to be a natural entrance in the rock now stood a door. The siblings opened the door and made their way further into the cave. Their Kairi stood, and when she turned to see them she didn’t seem to be herself.

“Kairi!” Sora shouted, reaching out for his friend.

“Sora,” muttered the girl, and then the wind blew through the cave sending Kairi right through them and into nonexistence. It then tossed the two siblings back through the door. When they stood, the islands were no longer there, and the only thing that remained was the small bit of land that they stood on, and a great dark monster who seemed to draw power from the sphere of evil above.

“This is just like my dream...” Sora whispered, holding the Keyblade out in front of him to defend his sister. “Don’t worry Lanri! I’ll protect you!”

The large dark creature attacked, alternating between summoning more of the small ones and shooting orbs of darkness out from its chest as well as holding darkness itself within its spindly fingers. Sora battled valiantly, almost as though he had done this before, attacking at its hands with his new weapon.

Lanri closed her eyes and wished she could be useful. She was the older sibling! She was the one who was supposed to be protecting him! And then she felt it within herself. A light that had always been there, but had never risen to the surface until now in the face of such a powerfully negative.

“Thunder!” she cried, and so lighting appeared, striking the monster just above the absence of its heart.

Sora looked back towards his sister in shock. She herself also seemed to be amazed at her own power. “How did you do that?!”

But there was no time for answering questions. The creature may have been defeated, but what remained of their home finally succumbed to the darkness, sending the siblings falling into the void.

And somewhere out in the worlds between, a princess who stowed herself away on a ship sat crying as she felt that another world had been lost. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was in a good mood to write this today because I got to hang out with my brother, and one of the large themes in this series is the love between siblings! Good lord, this is so much longer than I thought it was going to be that I learned that once you reach a certain word count Google docs will no longer display it in the corner of the screen. 
> 
> Random fact of the day: Yué's name was definitely stolen from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Yes, I am a thief, but I was 14 and I needed a name that had something to do with the moon because it's plot-relevant.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Hopefully, I can get another chapter up sometime this coming weekend. If not I don't know when. I literally sit and play through the game while I write this so it's also just an excuse to play Kingdom Hearts... again.
> 
> I hope you all have a wonderful start to your week!  
> -Boo Xx
> 
> Also nonspon, but shoutout to Grammarly for making sure I remember how English works.
> 
> Also also, idk whats up with the formatting. I tried to fix it but meh
> 
> *edit 2/26/21 - I fixed the formatting! I had to edit the HTML itself, which is always fun. It was just a mess of p and break tags for anyone who speaketh the hypertext markup language


	3. Chapter 3

Since the day her brother was born, Lanri and Sora had been near inseparable. When she thought back to the first thing could remember, it was a memory of her brother, barely a year old, waddling along the sandy shores of the islands and laughing when the cool water of the waves came up to touch his toes. She had been there for every milestone. Every laugh and every cry. For his first steps and his first words. Not a day could she remember had she spent without her brother, not a day in her life had she not loved him, so when Lanri woke up cold and alone in a place she didn’t know without the warmth of Sora by her side, she cried.

Lanri picked herself up from the ground on her shaky legs, trying her best to wipe the dust she had picked up from where she had been unconscious in the street and the sand that remained as the last remnants of her home that stuck uncomfortably to her skin. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to keep the chill from seeping into her bones. Living on an archipelago for her entire life had called for shorts and tank tops to help keep the heat of the sun from becoming too overwhelming, but wherever she had landed was dark with stones that seemed to hold the cold within their very being and her clothing showed off too much skin for her to easily keep warm.

A dog barked behind her, and she was startled at the sound, jumping as she turned and curling in on herself instinctually to protect herself from any danger that might appear. Two dalmatians stood at the end of the street and their tales perked up and wagged when they realized that they had her attention. Lanri smiled and released a breath of relief that there was nothing to be afraid of, for now at least. She knelt on her knees, wincing slightly at the hard cobblestone on her sore knees, and held out her hand as a sign that it was alright for them to come forward. The two dogs approached slowly, and as they got closer she could make out their collars, one blue and one red.

The red collared dalmation reached her first and nuzzled his head into her outstretched palm. Lanri giggled and scratched him behind his ear, “You’re a sweetheart, aren’t you?” He yipped softly in response and licked her fingers in thanks. She watched as they both bowed their heads and turned around but stood still with their ears perked up as they listened for her to rise and follow them. Lanri shrugged and trailed after them as they led her to whatever destination it was they had in mind. She’d been through enough shit that day that allowing two dogs to lead her to what she hoped was safety was the least insane thing to happen to her that day. 

As she took a moment to take in her surroundings, she noticed that it was quiet for the most part at least. Most people seemed to stay tucked in their houses and apartments, and she could hear the signs of life in the quiet hum of familial love that echoed behind closed doors. Lanri closed her eyes and willed away the tears. She would not allow herself to think about what she might have lost. Every once in a while she would catch the eye of someone sitting on their balcony or through the window of a shop and gaze at her with a look of pity but also understanding. She was starting to get the feeling that those with nowhere else always managed to find themselves here. 

The dogs led her out into what seemed to be a shop square, and Lanri saw more people milling about, but still, less than she was used to and much quieter as though they were trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. She caught sight of a hotel, and Lanri thought that perhaps this is where the dogs intended to bring her, but they continued further on into the square. When at last they stopped, Lanri and the two dogs stood before a fountain upon which was perched a young woman.

Just as they had done with Lanri, the dogs barked to gain the woman’s attention and Lanri was able to gain a better look. She was dressed in a pink dress with a purple belt draped across her hips. Her fingers danced in the water of the fountain and Lanri was almost sure that the water around her hand was glowing. The eyes that gazed upon them were a soft, kind green framed by chestnut brown hair pulled back into a braid.

“Hello, Pongo, Perdita,” she greeted, whom Lanri could only assume, the dogs that stood before her. At the call of their names, they bounded towards her, happily receiving the praises and pets that were being offered to them. At last, the eyes of the young woman fell upon Lanri, and she felt somewhat shy at the warmth and kindness that seemed to radiate from there depths. The woman gave her a pleasant smile and tilted her head curiously, “And who might you be?” The two dogs, aware that their mission to bring the girl to someone who could keep her safe had been accomplished, returned home.

Larni crossed her arms in front of herself and looked at the ground shyly, more than aware of the mess she looked like. Fighting a demon... thing and literally falling through hell into an unfamiliar place probably does that to people. “Oh, I’m uh... I’m Lanri.” She lifted her hand and waved small and awkwardly. 

The woman nodded and allowed her small smile to morph into a grin, “Well, Lanri, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Aerith.” The woman, now known as Aerith, held out her hand and Lanri reached out to shake it. Aerith kept her grasp of Lanri’s hand gentle but firm, and pulled her forward and urged her to sit beside her on the fountain. Aerith brushed Lanri’s hair behind her ear and the teenager reveled in the act of care from the stranger. “Are you lost?”

Lanri wanted to burst into laughter to hide her state of sheer panic, but she managed to settle for a pained grimace instead, “I guess you could say that.”

The lost islander was able to accept the look of understanding that came from Aerith easier than any of the other people that had given it to her. Aerith let out a small laugh that was barely more than a quiet exhalation, “Don’t worry, most people here are like you. Even me.”

The sky stars in the sky called out to Lanri and she looked up to see that they looked so different from the stars that blinked overhead on her island. “Where is ‘here’?” She asked, meeting the calming emerald gaze of the woman beside her.

“Well... it’s a sort of haven for lost things.” Aerith began, huffing a bit as she pulled the two over them to their feet. She held out an arm, the bangles on her wrist clinking and jingling together as she introduced Lanri to the world. “Might I present to you... Traverse Town!”

At that moment, the few people that amassed in the square began to shout, drawing the two women’s attention to the black creatures beginning to swarm and attack. Lanri gasped when she saw them, recognizing them as the same creatures that came when her island was destroyed. The yellow beady eyes of the dark creature found Lanri and Aerith, and it fell into the ground like a shadow as it stalked them like its prey.

Aerith pulled Lanri by the wrist and summoned a stave out from the air, “Come on! These are the small fry, so they won’t be after us long, but we still need to get out of here!”

“What are those things?!” Lanri shouted, yelping as one jumped from the ground and tried to grab at her ankles.

Aerith glanced back at Lanri briefly to ensure that she was alright before continuing to pull her along. “They’re called the Heartless! They steal people’s, well, hearts!” 

The two women continued to run, and Lanri was dragged down an alley by the older woman only to be met by a hoard of Heartless waiting for them. They turned around and found the entrance of the alley they had come from overrun with Heartless as well. Aerith held her stave out in front of herself and Lanri defensively, twirling her weapon in her hand and releasing a small burst of magic anytime one of the dark creatures threatened to venture too close. Lanri felt that same power from before well up inside of her, that almost instinctual pull towards whatever _source_ resided within the very depths of her heart and she closed her eyes and just... let go. The fire burst forth from her fingertips and flung outwards in a whirl, incinerating the Heartless as soon as it touched them.

Aerith lowered her stave, looking at Lanri with a sense of wonder. “You must be pretty powerful to cast Firaga without a conduit. Are you alright?” She looked over Lanri in an almost motherly gesture, petting her hair and checking her over for bumps and scrapes.

Lanri breathed in deeply, trying to calm the panicky beat of her heart as it was currently trying to leap out of her throat. “Yeah, yeah, I’m- I’m fine.” She met Aerith’s gaze and saw the concern melt away at the confirmation that the teenager was indeed fine. “What- what was it you said I did?”

“You mean you don’t know?” Aerith asked, sliding her hand down to Lanri’s shoulder and squeezing it gently.

Lanri shook her head, “No, not really. That’s only the uh... second time that’s happened.”

Aerith hummed and laced her fingers into Lanri’s with a bright smile on her face, “Well, then I know just the man we need to see.”

Yué sat for what felt like hours after the Gummi Ship landed, waiting to be sure that she had no chance of running into Donald and Goofy too soon after she departed that they would be rushing her back into the safety of the ship before she was able to even accomplish anything. She arose from the hold with a great groan of pain, every joint in her body protesting at having been crammed into a confined space for an extended period of time. She stretched, lithe limbs reaching far above her head towards the stars in an attempt to ease the discomfort permeating her bones. It didn’t really work.

At last, she slipped from the vehicle responsible for her space travel and onto the cobbled streets of Traverse Town, breathing in deeply as she took in the world around her. It had been so long since she had seen any world other than Disney Town or Master Yen Sid’s tower that it felt nice to take in the new surroundings. Yué gazed upon the town with an almost nostalgic sense of wonder. There was something about it that reminded her so much of her home. Not Disney, but the world in which she had been born. Radiant Garden. She could almost imagine that she was five years old again walking downtown. But Radiant Garden was, well, radiant, and this was not a trait that Traverse Town could claim to have. It was night here in town, or rather she was more tempted to say that you could simply see the stars in the sky because there was no sun. It made sense, in a way. What need did Traverse Town how for a sun when it simply existed to act as a sort of safe ground for the lost. It didn’t need to abide by the normal rules. Although Yué did notice the nighttime chill that nipped in the air and realized that a lack of sun probably didn’t help with keeping the place warm.

But enough sitting and taking in the sites, she was a Princess with a mission. The note from King Mickey instructed Donald and Goofy to seek out Leon as well as their first lead in seeking out the newest of the Light’s chosen Keyblade wielders, and they were closer than they realized to finding them. Her unexplainable connection to the Light of the Worlds allowed her to feel it the moment they set foot in this world. Whoever this new Champion was was already here, and they might not know it yet but their heart was probably leading them right where they needed to be. And so Yué would allow her heart to be her guiding key and lead her right to the new Keyblade, and something deep within her told her that when she did she might just find a familiar face.

She started her venture confidently. In front of her laid a few townhouses, a small cafe, an item shop, and an accessory shop nestled amongst them. There didn’t seem to be too many people out and about, and overall Traverse Town seemed to be a generally sleepy town. Yué waved kindly to the few people she passed as she made her way through the streets. She climbed a small set of stairs and walked into the accessory shop. Upon entering, she was greeted with the sight of a gruff-looking middle-aged man, a lit cigarette dangling from where it was clenched between his teeth, the tobacco scented smoke billowing up from the end, and creating whirls in the air before dissipating into the air.

The sound of her entry drew his attention, but he only groaned when he caught sight of her, “Aw, yer just another kid. And here I was actually hoping for customers today.”

Yué let out a small huff of laughter. He may have sounded annoyed but she could feel no actual negativity behind his words. “Sorry for the lack of business then.” She walked up to the counter, leaning her elbows on it while placing her chin in her left hand and holding out her right. “I’m Yué.”

“Cid,” he replied, grasping her outstretched hand in his own and shaking it briefly but firmly. “Now what’s a kid like you doing here? You’re not going to tell me that _your_ island disappeared now, are ya? I’ve already how to deal with one of those today.”

Yué’s bright silver eyes widened at the mention of a disappearing island, but she didn’t press for more, not from Cid at least. This felt like a story she would rather hear from the person who had to experience it. From what it seemed, it was most likely this island was the world she has just most recently fall to the darkness, so it gave her some semblance of relief to know that there were some survivors that had managed to find their way here to Traverse Town. 

The Princess pulled herself up from her elbows and let out a small sigh, “I’m actually looking for Leon. Seen him around lately?”

“Leon, eh?” Cid mused, pulling the cigarette from between his lips and waving it around as he talked. “Can’t say I’ve seen him, not today anyway at least. He and Yuffie are always mucking about somewhere doing who knows what. Check the Hotel in the Second District. They stay around there. But watch out for Heartless! More of the worlds going down, more of them are able to find their way here.”

Yué nodded and waved her thanks, walking out the shop and headed for the Second District as Cid had said. She summoned her rapier to her hand, on edge at the knowledge of the Heartless lurking about. Where the First District seemed full of apartments and townhouse with the occasional shop littered about, it was obvious the Second District had been focused on shopping. Everything was centered around the central square, with shops bordering most of the sides. In front of her was a raised walkway with sets of stairs that allowed citizens down to the lower level to admire the fountain that sat on one of the far sides of the square. To the left of Yué was the hotel that Cid mentioned, and she checked here first for any sign of Leon. The small building felt homey and cozy, and she was sure that it was a very comfortable place to stay, but sadly she had no time. She asked at the front desk if Leon was home, but was told that he had been out all day. A dead-end for the hotel then. It’s fine, though. Yué would not allow herself to give up hope at every wrong turn. 

She wandered around back alleys for a little while, feeling the forlorn sense of despair wash over her and leave a bitter taste in her mouth. Something must have happened recently, the essence of darkness still hanging in the air. The Heartless were getting stronger with every passing second it seemed. The Princess turned a corner and stilled, the remaining presence of a powerful spell swirling around her and prickling the hairs at the back of her neck. Someone incredibly gifted had come this way, but the not the Keybearer, she thought. The remnants of what magic remained here didn’t _feel_ like the magic of one the Light’s Chosen, but it was still powerful nonetheless. 

The atmosphere itself seemed to warble, and Yué felt the darkness invade the area around her, Heartless returning to the area of their defeat to seek revenge on whatever poor weak soul happened to wander in. Unluckily for the Heartless, Yué was not weak. The small thing that appeared before her was as small as a shadow, with willowy little limbs and a large round head with beady yellow eyes. It was almost sort of... cute, that was if it wasn’t responsible for stealing people’s hearts. The small thing charged her, and her rapier was summoned to her hand. She slashed with a downward sweep on the thin blade, swiping through the Hearltess and causing it to dissipate into nothingness. She waited for a moment in silence, listening for the sound of more of the creatures materializing but none never came. They were still too weak to try and outnumber her it seemed.

Yué sighed, turning to make her way out of the alley. Another dead end in her journey it seemed. Someone turned the corner and ran right into her, sending both of them falling to the ground. The princess groaned, wincing as her elbows hit the hard stone street. Well, that hurt like a bitch. She huffed as she lifted herself, her vision of the other person blocked by the fluorescent yellow shoes on their feet. Wait a minute... They jumped up, cerulean eyes wide, brown hair poking up at all angles and Key held defensively in front of themselves.

A laugh pulled itself out of her throat as she took in the figure that stood before her, joy radiating in every facet of her being. “Holy shit.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the original plan was to go through one world a chapter, but this felt like a good place to end it.  
> Yes, I am aware that Cid has a toothpick in KH, but that sure as hell ain't no toothpick in FFVII and cigarettes are more fun to describe.  
> Speaking of FFVII, if you love Aerith (who also appears in this chapter) as I much as I do, then go and read my Aeriseph one-shot And As I Lay Dying ( https://archiveofourown.org/works/24584401 ) Or don't. Entirely up to you.
> 
> Until next time! I hope you're all well.


	4. Chapter 4

“Oh, Sora, I’m so glad to see you!” 

The boy could not exactly say the same as his eyes widened in shock as he stared down at the figure that was still laughing with unbridled joy on the cold cobblestone streets of Traverse Town. His Keyblade disappeared in a sheen of light from his hand as he brought his palms up to rub at his face. He shook his head, the gravity-defying spikes of his hair swinging with the movement. His hands dragged down his face, comically pulling at his skin making his bright eyes look even wider. When he looked to the place Yué had been, half expecting his head shake to have caused her to disappear, she was still there her silver eyes peeking up at him with amusement through the bangs of her raven hair.

Sora fell to his knees, his head falling backward as he let out a long groan of disappointment, “Noooooo, I’m deeeeeeead.”  That obviously had to be the only explanation, at least in his mind, because how else would the girl from his dreams be sitting right in front of him?  He fell back completely, his arms plopping against the stone. So dramatic. 

Yué’s laughter softened into a quiet giggle as she watched the boy from her dreams, at last in front of her for real, lament his situation to the night sky. “Um, Sora...?”

“And I want to tell my sister that I love her, and I’m sorry for the time I put sand in the salt shaker...”

“Soraaaaa...”

“And the time I put a fish in her shorts...”

“Sora?”

“And the time I smashed a seagull egg over her head...”

“Sora! You’re not dead!”

He perked at this, lifting himself up on his elbows to look upon her once more, “I’m not?”

Yué scoffed, rolling her eyes at his antics. He liked his theatrics, it seemed. She was sure that if she hadn’t stopped his ramblings he would have it in his head to start enacting a one-man play of his life right in front of her. “No, so to disappoint you, but you’re definitely alive.” She huffed, holding out her hand in the air, “Now will you help a girl up?”

“Oh yeah! Sorry!” And with the energy of a hyperactive puppy, Sora rose to his feet with the swiftness of the wind. His hand reached out to grasp her own, and the second that Sora’s finger’s brushed Yué’s bright colorful sparks emitted from where their skin touched and a blinding flash of light engulfed them. The world around them faded away, and Sora, almost instinctually, tucked Yué protectively into his side. “Y’know, none of this stuff ever happened to me until you showed up,” Sora grumbled. Yué only offered up a slight laugh in response.

Where once stood the cobbled streets of Traverse Town now stood a plush and quiet room, misty like they were staring at it through a fog. Three figures stood to one side, two were cloaked in grainy darkness, their faces indiscernible, but the third glowed like a guiding light. She was a beautiful young girl, maybe ten years old. Her hair fell in soft pastel pink waves over her shoulders and a serene smile rested on her angelic features. She was hunched slightly, her arms delicately cradling a bundle of blankets close to her chest. 

Sora felt Yué stiffen in his arms, and he glanced down at her in concern. Her eyes were wide and teary, her hand outstretched towards the girl that stood before them. “Do you know her?” he asked, his voice soft so as not to disturb the peace in the room.

Yué nodded, her hand coming to clutch at her heart, “Tui. She’s-” she swallowed back the tears that threatened to surface, “she’s my sister.”

“ _ Hello, my Sweet Moon. I’m so happy to finally meet you, _ ” Tui whispered, holding out a finger above the bundle in her arms. A tiny hand peeked out from the bundle.  _ Yué.  _ The tiny hand grasped onto Tui’s outstretched finger and the same sparks that appeared between Sora and Yué sparked between Yué and her sister. The baby giggled, and as though they were leaves in the breeze, the world fell away and changed before them once again. 

Colors swirled before them like an endless ocean, and when at last the waves stilled they surfaced in a land filled with daylight. Sora and Yué stood in a garden, the sky around them twinkling with crystals that floated in the air like rain. A multitude of figures stood before them now, the tallest surround by on all sides by those dark and twitching creatures so reminiscent of the ones they had encountered in Traverse Town but also entirely different. A small Yué grasped to her sister’s skirts, tiny and silents sobs leaving her as she cried fearfully as the dark creatures tried to make their way towards her.

“I remember this,” breathed the Yué that was held in Sora’s arms. A metallic  _ shing  _ sounded, splitting the air. A Keyblade appeared in Tui’s hand and she held it in front of herself and her sister protectively. Sora summoned his own, noticing the similarities as well as the differences between his blade and the one wielded by Yué’s older sister. Both held purple blades, but the hilt of his shone gold whereas Tui’s gleamed a deep purple. Opposites but complementary. He held it out before them, and the Keyblade seemed to  _ sing  _ in Yué’s presence as though it had finally been imbued with its purpose. 

_ Protect! Protect! Protect the Heart! The Guardian and the Heart united again! Protect her! Keep her safe! Keep her shining!  _

Tui slashed at the creatures before her, shouting as she sliced the creatures through if they dared to try and come too close to her sister. Soon there were no more enemies and Tui collapsed to her knees and pulled the young Yué into her arms. “ _ It’s alright, Moon. I’ve got you. There’s nothing to fear. I’m here. I’m here...” _

They were thrust once more into the whirlwind they had become familiar with as the scene around them changed its shape once more. The gale of hues that encircled them, at last, deposited them gently into a room bathed in warmth and light. Stone bricks were placed into a circular basin filled with water. In the very middle of the circle came the source of light, the softly lapping water slightly distorting the waves of light that shone down from the source.

“ _ Are you sure about this, my dear?” _

Sora and Yué turned towards the source of the voice, finding it to be a wizened old wizard clothed in a star-patterned purple pointy wizard’s hat and cloak. He stood on the edge of the basin next to a set of semi-circular stairs that led into the water. 

“That’s Master Yen Sid,” Yué explained, “I’m pretty sure he knows everything.”

“ _ I’m certain,”  _ came the familiar voice of Tui in reply. She stood on the steps just at the crest of the water, the hem of her white dress slowly turning soaked and sticking to her ankles. Tui took another step into the water, and then another until she reached the bottom of the basin and the water reached her hips. She swayed gently along with the waves, her arms softly skimming the surface. Her features seemed more gaunt and pale than they had yet seen, and her eyes, which Sora could finally see were a soft grass green, shone with weakness and sorrow. “ _ Xehanort has taken too much of my strength. I can’t protect her anymore, but I can watch over Ven in his slumber. Yué will be safe with Mickey under the Cornerstone of Light until my successor comes for her, but I ask you, Master, not as the Guardian of the Heart but as the only mother that child has ever known, please make sure that no harm befalls my sister.” _

Yen Sid nodded, “ _ I swear it on the Great Light of Kingdom Hearts.” _

Tui muttered her thanks and dropped to her knees, the water rising to caress her color bones. She sighed and closed her eyes, bringing her hands up clasped in prayer. A few moments were spent in silence, the only sound the lapping of the water. Tui’s lips moved but no words were uttered as she prayed, and then all at once she stopped. Light streamed from Tui’s chest and coalesced into a ball before her. It stayed for a bit, almost as though it were wishing a final goodbye to its master before it shot off through the stone towards the sky. Tui let herself collapse into the water, floating on the surface and looking even weaker than she had moments before. “ _ It’s done,”  _ she heaved, and then, at last, they all fell into darkness.

“ _ Sora? Are you okay? You’re crying.”  _ spoke a voice from the void, sweet and childlike but still full of concern.

Sora gasped, looking around in the dark for the voice, “That’s Lanri! That’s my sister! But she sounds so small...”

“I think we’re still in a memory, Sora,” Yué remarked gently, grabbing onto his hand to ground him to her. She was soon proven correct for soon after the darkness faded from all around them and they were left standing in the alley of Traverse Town they had found themselves in before.

He looked up to the dark sky, the stars dancing in the blues of his eyes as he smiled forlornly, “Y’know, for a second I thought she had found me. After the island was lost I didn’t...”

Ah, so it must have been his home that had been lost to the dark. Yué hummed, understanding painted on her features. The loss echoed from his soul in waves and she had to hold back her tears as his emotions wafted over her. She couldn’t claim to know him, this was the first she’d ever interacted with him outside of a dream after all, but he was sweet and kind and he didn’t deserve to ever feel sad. “If you want, I can help  _ you  _ find  _ her.”  _

Sora looked down to meet her gaze, hope beginning to bubble up in his chest at the thought that his sister was not entirely lost. “You can do that?”

“Yep!” Yué beamed. She turned to face him fully, bringing up her right hand to rest over the space where his heart rested inside of him. “I need you to think about your sister,” she commanded. “Every memory you have of her. All of the love you carry for her. Your heart will do the rest of the work.”

Sora’s eyes fell shut as he concentrated on the thought of his sister, his brows furrowing with the effort. Yué giggled, it was sort of adorable. Her own eyes closed, and she saw images flicker before her as they passed from Sora to herself. A bright smile. A sisterly warmth. A gleam of mischief in cerulean eyes that were so much like Sora’s own. Yué encouraged Sora’s heart to call out for her sister’s, and she felt the reply return quickly. Confusion. Wonder. Guilt. 

Yué let out a soft gasp, her eyes fluttering open as the remaining emotions washed out of her and sat floating just out of reach but still present. “She’s close,” breathed the princess, “and she’s been looking for you too.”

Sora’s own eyes opened as he sucked in a large breath at the feeling of having his very soul caressed by the warmth of another’s, and the free-falling sensation as his heart seemed to depart him in the search for Lanri. “How’d you do that?” he asked, his words slightly slurred. He felt so  _ woozy.  _ His eyes drifted to the Key still held in his hand as he thought about the words it had sung to him.  _ The Heart. The Guardian. Protect. _

A small sad smile graced Yué lips and she gave a little shrug, “I wish I knew.”

The young Keyblade wielder shook himself from his revelries and joy flittered across his face with the thought that his sister was close. “We’ll figure that out later! We have to find Lanri!” he exclaimed. Sora gripped Yué’s hand tightly in his own, his fingers lacing with hers as he dragged her behind him in his haste.

Yué let out a yelp and shouted indignantly, “Hey! You can’t just pull along random girls! This is kidnapping!”

“You’re not random!” Sora laughed, and he let out a loud cheer as they continued to rush through the streets of Traverse Town.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guyyyyyyz. 'Nother chapter for ya. Sora and Yué stuff is always my favorite to write so this was just fun for me all the way through. No Lanri this chapter, but we got some backstory so that's always nice. I'll try to be back as soon as possible. I'm kinda liking doing smaller chapters because I can get all of my ideas out quicker. Until next time! Stay safe!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look! I'm not dead!

Aerith had been leading her through the streets of Traverse Town for quite some time now, but they had so far remained quiet. Lanri assumed it was because Aerith was being cautious in an attempt to keep themselves under the radar of those Heartless creatures. She had noticed that their pace was not slow per se, but soft and that every once in a while Aerith would peek around the corner into the next street before leading Lanri down it. It was an effort that Lanri appreciated as, even though her instinctual display of fire might be enough to protect them once again, she had no control and couldn’t rely on herself to be able to drag up that power from within her for the third time without at least knowing how and why she was able to. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Lanri glanced up in surprise to see the older woman smiling softly at her, a look of patience and understanding shining in her eyes.

“It’s alright if you don’t want to,” Aerith shrugged. “I didn’t want to talk about things when I first got here either, but I learned that sometimes when you tell somebody what’s wrong that it’s like a weight being lifted off of you because you don’t have to shoulder those feelings all by yourself anymore. Does that make sense?”

Lanri nodded, and thought about Sora and Kairi but Riku most of all. That was what he was for her. He had been willingly helping her carry all of her thoughts for as long as she could remember. Not once in her life had she ever truly thought of herself and Riku as separate entities. They had always been a team, which may have been considered mature thinking for a couple of fifteen-year-olds who had never seen anything other than the islands that they grew up on, but Lanri liked to think that they knew what they were doing. She was confident when she would say that she and Riku were in it until the very end. Or at least she used to be confident.

It had really only been a few hours since she had fallen from the Destiny Islands and been sucked into this strange new world, and in that time she hadn’t really had much of a chance to process what exactly had happened with Riku and what it was that she saw in him in that moment when he disappeared into that terrible darkness. She knew her Riku’s heart like she knew her own. It was kind and warm and selfless and strong, but the heart she saw in him in that coiling void was  _ wrong.  _ The Riku she had seen in the darkness tonight was not hers, something must have come over him. Possessed him. Or maybe... he had been like this all along and she had been too much of a young foolish girl in love to see that right in front of her was someone who could feel so cold. 

It was with this thought that the events of the last few hours finally crashed into Lanri harder than any wave that she had ever felt, and she collapsed on her knees to the cobblestone street and let out a pitiful sob. She was vaguely aware of Aerith sinking down on her own knees to pull her into her arms and stroke her hair. The display of comfort seemed to touch Lanri’s very soul, and she poured out all of the things that she hadn’t been allowed to feel yet to this woman that she had just met on this random street in an unfamiliar place because there was nowhere else for Lanri to go. 

Lanri told Aerith everything, maybe a bit too much of everything, but Aerith didn’t seem to mind. She told her about how she and all of her friends had decided that they had had enough of their hometown and that they were building a raft to go to new places. She told her about the night of the storm, how at first she had thought it was only a simple thunderstorm and that she was worried the raft would get caught in it and dragged out to sea. How she and her brother had hurried to the island together were attacked by those creatures. How they had lost Kairi. How they had fought that giant heartless and she unwittingly cast thunder to protect her brother. How when she looked into Riku’s eyes as he stood amongst all that darkness, she didn’t know if who she saw was the boy that she loved anymore, and how besides losing her brother, losing Riku was what she was terrified of the most.

Aerith proved herself to be a good listener. She sat patiently as Lanri sobbed out her story, holding Lanri’s hand all the way through and squeezing in gently in a gesture of comfort when it seemed that there was a part of Lanri’s tragic tale that seemed to have her choking up more than the others. Never once did Aerith question why or what she was feeling, not even when Lanri told her about her new doubts about Riku and how he may have been different from the boy that she thought he was her entire life.

Aerith only gave her an understanding smile, “You love this boy, don’t you?”

Lanri nodded her head vehemently.

“Then why are you doubting not only him but yourself? It’s only been a few hours, you’re in shock. Give it time. If you know him like you say you do, then you’ll figure it out, right?”

Lanri nodded again, and wiped her tears with the back of her hand, “I guess so. Thank you, Aerith. Really. You don’t know me. There’s no reason for you to be so nice.”

Aerith smiled at her once again, but this time it was tinged with a hint of sadness, “I was in your spot once. When my world was lost, I watched the man I love fall into the darkness too. When I wound up here I was alone. I found people eventually, but in the beginning, I was all by myself and all I wanted was someone to support me. I never want anyone to feel like I did, so that’s what I’m going to do, Lanri.” She grabbed Lanri by the elbows and helped to steady her and pull her to her feet. “I’m here to help. Now, let’s get going. We’re close to where we need to be.”

And Lanri let Aerith lead her once again. Wherever she went, Lanri knew that everything would be alright.

At last, after a few more run-ins with the Heartless, at last, they arrived at their destination in what appeared to be a quieter part of Traverse Town. In front of Lanri was a red door emblazoned with the image of a flame. Aerith looked to be pleased with herself as they stood in front of the mysterious door, and turned toward Lanri with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Alright then,” she said, holding her hand out toward the door, “go on. Open it.”

Lanri crossed her arms and raised a brow as she looked at the older woman, but shrugged off Aerith’s suspicious countenance, that is until Lanri paid closer attention to the door and found that it was lacking a doorknob or any other means of opening a door that she knew of. 

“Um, Aerith, I don’t know about you, but this door is starting to look like it’s all for show.”

Aerith snorted, a sound Lanri would not have expected her to make and continued to gesture at the door. “Oh come on! You can do it! Think of it as a little test or something. What’s on the door? You can figure it out. I know you can.”

Shrugging Lanri slowly reached her hand out to touch the door, her palm laying flat on its surface. At first, nothing about the door felt off. It appeared to be nothing but an ordinary door, if missing a handle and colored a bright red, but Lanri did not let that stop her. Aerith seemed to believe that there was something about this door, and she had yet to give Lanri a reason to not trust her. Whatever it was, Aerith thought that it was a simple enough solution that Lanri would be able to figure it out on her own.

They stood like this for a few more minutes, Aerith staring at Lanri’s progress encouragingly. She was slowly beginning to tune the world out, and that was when she felt it. It was like a pulse thudding underneath where she had her palm placed on the door, and it was calling to her, warming her fingertips and slowly spreading down the length of her arm with this power. This  _ magic.  _ Lanri felt the pull to her own well of magic deep within her, and the word had poured out of her lips before she had even realized it.

“ _ Fire!” _

The magic within her lept forth at the command. Like electricity, it took the path of least resistance and rushed from the pool of her magic within her heart down her arm out through her hand and into the door itself. The door reacted almost instantly, moving away to reveal a little cavern with a house surrounded by water. 

“I-I did it!” Lanri cheered, staring at her own palm in shock before pumping her fists in excitement. “I did it!”

“You did it!” Aerith echoed. “I knew you would! Now come on, there’s someone you’ve gotta meet.” 

And with that, the two women entered the cavern. Once inside, Lanri could see that the house itself was an odd thing, to say the least. An accumulation of bits and bobs all came together to form the mysterious abode that looked like it was ready to fall apart at any given moment. The house itself sat atop a small island in the middle of the cavern surrounded by water, and it appeared that the only way to reach it was to jump across the number of stepping stones floating in the water that seemed to be moving just a bit too smoothly for it to be propelled by anything other than magic.

“Almost there!” Aerith exclaimed, and grabbed onto Lanri’s hand to pull her across the stones. Lanri, who had been busy taking in her surroundings and feeling the magic that pulsed within the air, yelped when she felt herself being tugged by the older woman.

They made it across the stones quickly, and Lanri thankfully managed to only get her toes wet. Aerith continued to pull Lanri behind her. Instead of going for the front door as one would have initially guessed, they moved to the side of the house. Aerith pushed away a sheet that seemed to be acting as a wall which revealed a room that was just as chaotic on the inside as the house was on the outside. A brick pedestal with a dining table was raised up and took up the center of the room, books littered nearly every surface, and every once in a while a teapot would whizz past Lanri’s head seemingly of its own volition. 

“Merlin?!” Aerith shouted into thin air. “Merlin, are you home?!”

Or apparently not thin air, because no sooner had Aerith called his name did Merlin appear in a puff of smoke and magic. He must have been a wizard because he was exactly as Lanri had imagined wizards to be with his long white beard and his tall pointy hat and glasses balanced on his nose.

“My goodness, Aerith!” Merlin said. Lanri nearly squealed. He even sounded like what she thought he should in her head. “What’s all the ruckus about?”

“We need your help,” Aerith explained, pushing Lanri in front of her so that she stood before the wizard. “This is Lanri. I watched her cast a Firaga with nothing but her hands.”

The wizard’s, Merlin’s, eyes, which had already seemed big to Lanri behind his pair of spectacles grew even larger as he stared at her in wonder. He came closer to inspect her, grabbing her hand to investigate it as though it held all of the answers to her prowess. “Only with your hands, dear girl? You must be quite powerful indeed to be able to do such a thing.”

Lanri let out an awkward huff of a laugh and rubbed at the back of her neck, “That’s the thing. I don’t really have any clue what I’m doing.”

“We were hoping that you could help her find a conduit!” Aerith piped up from where she now stood behind Lanri.

“Oh my, of course!” Merlin exclaimed, shaking the hand that he still held in excitement. “I would be delighted!” He released her hand and rushed about the room dodging the floating teacups and hopping over the piles of books as he collected what appeared to be a wand that was tucked away in an awkward spot on a shelf with a grace and speed that Lanri would not have expected to have been achievable from such a wizened old wizard. Like most things she was coming to see in her short time in this new place, she suspected that magic was involved. 

“Come now!” Merlin ushered, encouraging the two women to step onto the platform in the center of the room and hold hands. “Oh, this is going to be so much fun!” And then without warning, Merlin grasped Lanri’s shoulder, and much like Merlin had appeared to them earlier, the trio disappeared in a puff of smoke. 

When they reappeared, they were in what appeared to be an attic. Much like the “downstairs,” this room too was littered with an accumulation of knick-knacks and furniture that was occasionally covered in a tarp to keep the dust from gathering. With a flick of his wand, Merlin commanded the objects to animate themselves and soon the atmosphere was much like the chaos Lanri had become acquainted with. 

“Righty then! Let’s get to it!” With another flourish of his wrist, Merlin produced a wand that was similar in style to his own and placed it gently into her hands. The wand tingled in her palm, and at just her touch, the wand lengthened considerably to the size of a staff while also becoming slightly thicker in width and more silver in color. At the top of the staff, the silver turned a soft blue that formed loose wispy watery streams that came together to form a lattice-like V-shape. In the very center of this V formed a feature in the shape of a golden star.

Lanri stared at the new fixture in wonder. “What happened to it?”

“The wand took a shape that best reflects the natural state of your inherent magic,” Merlin explained as she continued to inspect the new state of the staff in her hand. “It can be enhanced later on, of course, and will take another shape, but even then that shape will reflect you.”

“So what would happen if I were to hold your wand?” she asked.

“Ho-oh! That’s even more part of the fun!” Merlin held out his own wand for her to take which she did with slight hesitation. She felt the familiar tingle that she now recognized as the feel of magic and watched the wand for any sign of change. When nothing happened, she looked up to Merlin for an answer which he gladly provided. “Magic-users like us require conduits to truly control our magic. Now, these conduits are very intuitive. As you have already seen, they can change shape to best suit the needs of the user. When I placed that wand in your hand, you marked it as yours by imbuing your magic within it, just as I have marked my wand with my magic. While you may use my wand, as it has already been shaped and claimed by me, unless your will is strong enough, it is still  _ my  _ wand. Does that make sense, my dear?”

Lanri nodded and returned Merlin’s wand.

“Excellent!” Merlin exclaimed, clapping his hands together to showcase his glee. “Now then -Aerith, would you mind stepping back a bit? Yes, that’s a dear- I’m sure that when you cast that Firaga earlier, the flames went everywhere, yes?” Again, Lanri nodded. “Yes, yes, of course. That is because it was cast without a conduit. A conduit allows us to focus our magic so that we might be able to more accurately direct it. Well,” Merlin gestured towards the furniture that had been whizzing about in the background and stepped back to where Aerith herself had retreated, “let us see what you can do, shall we?”

And without further ado, the furniture’s chaotic movements then turned themselves onto Lanri. She gasped as she was unprepared for the sudden onslaught of teacups aiming for her head.

“Don’t worry about hurting anything!” shouted the wizard.

“That’s not what I’m worried about!” Lanri shouted back, and then grumbled as a table knocked into her side, “In what world is being pelted by living furniture normal? This one I guess. Great.”

She readied herself as another wave of teacups rushed directly for her chest. With her feet spread slightly, she held her new staff in one hand outstretched in front of her and allowed her next steps to come naturally. When the teacups nearly reached her she shouted “Aero!” and a sphere of wind encircled her, shattering the teacups on impact when they met her wall of air. Next came a chair that was eager to meet her. Lanri dashed to the side as it charged at her, and she turned on her heels to face it. Holding her staff in both hands, she brought it up behind her head and swung forward like a baseball bat with a shout of “Fire!” From the head of the staff, a ball of fire formed and was launched at the chair which immediately turned to cinders. This continued on for a while, Lanri using a combination of the skills she had developed with the staff and the instinctual call of the magic she had relied on so far so cast a number of spells that came to her, such as the Fire, Thunder, and Aero that she had already cast as Blizzard which caused ice to fly from her staff and Cure, which she had learned when one of the tea saucers managed to get close enough to slice her cheek.

Eventually, Lanri was simply physically incapable of casting any more spells. She tried. She shouted the words but the top of her staff only fizzled, and she had to rely on simply swinging it at the pieces of furniture that were still coming at her. She was so tired. It was like a well inside of her had dried up. Noticing that she was no longer casting magic, Merlin waved his wand and with a poof all of the furniture went back to the state it was in when they first entered the room and walked over to Lanri who had placed her hands on her knees so that she could catch her breath.

“What happened?” she asked. “Why wasn’t I able to cast any more spells?”

“Ah yes, well, magic is surprisingly physical,” Merlin said, “and like all things that take energy, eventually you’ll use it up. But do not worry. Simple rest will help you refill that well of magic or ethers but those can be explained another time. You performed excellently! But now it is time to rest. I’m sure that you have had a long day. But before that, every great mage must name their weapon! Do you have one in mind?”

Lanri looked at her staff and at the star that was so much like the paopu fruits of her home surrounded by water and nodded, “I will call her Waterscape.”

“Oh, what a lovely name!”

Aerith, who had been watching on the side in amazement as Lanri battled against the animated furniture, came over to offer the tired Lanri support and one of her characteristic smiles. “You did beautifully.”

Lanri smiled in thanks, and Merlin placed his hand once again on her shoulder and poofed them to his workshop.

“Come again!” he shouted as Aerith and Lanri waved their goodbyes, and once again they were passing through the tarp of a wall and out across the moving stepping stones back out onto the streets of Traverse Town.

“Aerith?”

“Yes?” she asked, looking down at the younger girl who was clutching her staff to her chest protectively as they wandered through the quiet streets.

“I know that you’ve already done so much for me, and this might be a lot to ask, but would you be willing to help me find my brother? I don’t know how I know, but I just know that he had to have wound up here in Traverse Town too, and I would really appreciate it if you could help me find him.”

Aerith could hear the hope in Lanri’s voice, but she could also see the sincere belief that graced her features. She truly believed her brother had managed to find his way to Traverse Town as well, and from what she knew of this girl that she somehow couldn’t believe she had only known for a few hours, if she thought that her brother had managed to make it here to Traverse Town then it might very well be true.

“Of course I will,” Aerith said, placing a comforting hand on Lanri’s shoulder, and the beaming smile she received from the teenager was blinding. “But Merlin was right. You’ve had a long day and need to rest. You won’t be any use to your brother if you’re just about ready to collapse. C’mon, we can go back to the hotel where I live. There are some people there that can help us too.”

Lanri nodded and grinned, “Okay!” And she let Aerith lead her through the unfamiliar streets once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it. Another chapter done. Ah to be a self-conscious 15 year old again. Wait, actually no thanks. Now before anyone says anything.  
>  1) I am taking _great_ liberties when it comes to how weapons work in Kingdom Hearts, but I'm still incorporating the fact that you can upgrade them. I just wanted to make it obvious what a person's weapon looks like because it is a reflection of them. Hence me saying in the last chapter that Sora and Tui both hold a version of Kingdom Key, hers is just purple, for reasons that'll be important later but I'm sure some of you have figured out already. It's a surprise tool that'll help us later. Also side note, Lanri’s staff is named Waterscape in reference to “The Sunleth Waterscape” from FFXIII which is also called “The Promise.” I wanted it to have something to do with keeping promises but Oathkeeper already exists.  
>  2) Which is less important, if you are reading this on AO3 then I made my own fancy line breaks because I'm _special._ I added them to the previous chapters as well. Sorry fanfic.net readers, but I don't have that kind of flexibility with y'all, but don't worry you aren't really missing out on anything.  
>  3) Speaking of previous chapters, I plan on doing some editing to them in the future before the next chapter because I was rereading them and realized that current me a year down the line thinks that they're kinda bland and that they need some spicing up. So expect those before the next chapter (whenever that may be). I'll remind y'all. I don't plan on adding anything that'll majorly change the plot.  
>  4) In terms of this chapter, sorry about all the Aerith but I would literally die for her lol. I think it's somewhat ironic when I was planning this long series, I planned for KH1 to be most centric around Lanri, but I still somehow manage to get distracted by Yue. Lanri actually came first and I can clearly remember making her up, but I have no idea what I was doing when I came up with Yue. Anyways I'm trying to make up for all the Yue content with more Lanri content because she does deserve it my sweet first child. Yes, they are my children.  
>  5) And lastly....  
> 
> 
>   
> 
> 
> Yay! Pictures of the girls! When I was drawing Lanri I somehow managed to draw her in a Sora pose, which is fine as they are siblings, but I kept looking at her like "where have I seen this head tilt?" and then I looked at my Kingdom Hearts 2 poster that has been hanging on my wall for years and realized ah yes, there.
> 
> Anyway! I hope you enjoyed it! I'll try not to stay gone as long this time, but I can't make any promises. See y'all later.

**Author's Note:**

> Heeeeeeeeey guys. So I came up with my OCs when I was just about to turn 14, so uh... almost 6 years ago. Yay. It's been a long time coming.  
> I'm not going to promise an update schedule because I am a busy college student, but I going to try my hardest not to abandon my babies.
> 
> um...
> 
> Random Fact: This fic didn't have a name until I was revising and I just so happened to be listening to Run by Joji so thank you Francis of the Filth
> 
> Fun(?) Fact: (I said this earlier in the teasers) Vanitas is a word commonly used in formal descriptions of pieces of art to describe its emotional emptiness and darkness. Oh, Vanitas. So emo. - thus spoke the art history minor.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! This turned out a lot longer than I thought it would be, so that's a good sign for me moving forward. I hope you enjoyed it.  
> -Boo Xx


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